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Friday, May 2, 2014

Added a blog at my home blog, which I am planning to use more as we settle in. (more as in, how often can I actually blog but hopefully can slowly get updates going!) You can click here to read about our sweet boy's 9th birthday!

Friday, April 25, 2014

"My family is all
things unconventional. But it is real. Real because God has knit our hearts
together in a way that only He can and real because no matter what anyone says
or thinks, I am their Mommy, and they are mine."

(Kisses From Katie pg.179)

I started a post a week ago.

Worked on it a bit each day.

And tonight I went to add
photos and it was gone.

Nothing annoys me more than
spending all that time typing to have it LOST. Ok there are many things that
annoy me more, but that is frustrating!

So here we go again. And
actually, maybe it is for the best. I am in a better place than a week ago.

That first week is HARD.

REALLY hard when you have 2
new kids who are jet lagged.

And 5 who are not. (Malaine
did awesome and got right back to schedule)

Mercie fights sleep with all she has.

Why do 2 year olds hate sleep
so much?

To get her to sleep it is
like wrestling a cat. You might win, but you will come out bleeding.

Or missing a clump of hair.
Or you will have been hit, pinched, bit, kicked, probably all of the above.

My 22 pound almost 3 year old
is STRONG and mighty. She has learned to survive well these past 2 1/2 years.

BUT it is getting better.
Baby steps each day. She DOES nap this week. (after the wrestling match) And
she is sleeping all night IN MY BED.

I am not sleeping all that
great because she is either on top of me, kicking me, well, you can imagine.
BUT at this point I am just thankful she is sleeping!

And she is SMILING. IF she
sleeps, she is happy. I have finally moved up the ladder and I am at a close
tie with Malaine. Unfortunately Mark has moved down and so we are working on
that. It is hard on him, but he is trying and we all know she will adore her
daddy soon.

Mercie is a wild woman. Why
does this shock me? For some STRANGE reason I just thought child #7 would be
easy.

I should just stop thinking.

You don’t dare take your eyes
off of her.

Running across the table?
Check.

Diving off the couch? Check

Throwing herself down the
steps. Check.

Dumping out every thing,
CHECK.

Pulling the dogs tail CHECK.

Into EVERYTHING, Check, check CHECK.

I am feeling my age with this adoption.

The only quiet moments I get
are when she is eating or in the bath. And the bath is not necessarily quiet.
Because she is a FISH. She goes under, she rolls, she dives, she is CRAZY.

And we wouldn't have it any other way. Well, maybe a LITTLE calmer might be nice! :-)

We went to the doctor the
first week home and she is very underweight but I am not to worried because my
girl can EAT. They said at the orphanage she was picky but I am going to guess
that is because she was tired of mush. She eats everything. She is not a food
hoarder by any means. (we had that in the past) she just eats really well and
eats whatever we give her.

She is smart and catching up
so quickly. She gives kisses, she says bye, she understands important things
like “where is your hairbow” and "bathtime!" She doesn’t say
anything really understandable (though I am almost certain I hear Mama!) but
she jabbers and I wish I could catch it on video because it is the cutest!

Syler is really doing
amazing. I read stories of older child adoption and he is honestly making it
look easy. We have our moments, and when we do, I get frustrated. BUT really he
is a sweet boy and so laid back.

If I had to describe him to
you, if you know my children, I would say he is very similar to Sage.

Today we were doing school
and I had him practicing his name. Which he can already spell. I tried to get
him to write his Chinese name under it. He said no, SYLER.

Mark tried tonight something
with his chinese name and he shook his head no and said SYLER.

This makes me happy and sad
all at once.

Syler is finding his place in
this family. He loves being a brother and a son. He really seems to LOVE having
a family.

He knows he is now Syler
Laxton.

But it makes me a bit sad
that he seems to be DONE with life before us. And I know this is normal and
expected, but for some reason it still makes me a little sad.

We are going to be doing
school at home till the fall and then he will probably go with the girls.

He is catching on so fast to
language.

Language is one of those
things you just can’t comprehend. Everyone told us how fast it happens.

But when you meet it seems
overwhelming. And especially when you have the first “melt down” and you feel
so helpless.

So thankful for friends who have
traveled this road and who have been so good to encourage us through this.

Because it DOES happen fast.
Or for this age, for him, it has.

He understands:

Night night

Pajamas

Bath

Coat

Shoes

Let’s go

Buckle up

Wait & Later (though he
HATES these words!)

All our names

Dogs/Cat and their names

Outside

Brush teeth

Take a shower/bath

Eat

School

Yes

No

potty

And the list goes on.

He SAYS with out prompting:

All our names including his

Some of his letters

Numbers 1-10 (can put in
order)

Many colors

Shoes

Mama, Syler outside?

Potty

Come on

Eat

Pixie drop it!

Fei Fei no!

Brush teeth

ball

Food wise he is doing well.
We had a few moments over food, but with ME sleeping and a bit of patience we
have come along. I fix the kids plates (because if he can CHOOSE, he won’t
choose much!). He knows he needs to TRY a bite of everything. He is not a huge
fan of pasta, potatoes, veggies or cheese. BUT even there I have been shocked
at the things he has started to eat. Last night he ate mashed potatoes! He has
had a salad (no dressing) and meatloaf with cheese. I didn’t even have to
encourage him, he just ate!

In China you might remember
he ate SOOOO much. But that has not been an issue at all here. Of course we
don’t have a buffet, but I am thankful food hoarding has not been an issue for
either of them.

**Seriously have to do a HUGE shout out here while talking about food. We have had meals delivered to us EVERY day of the week since coming home, with another week to go! My "village" is THE BEST and I am SOOO thankful!! It has been such a tremendous blessing for us! ****

Doctor gave him a good report
besides teeth. We have some big dental bills in our future. He is in pain and
we will see a pediatric dentist in 2 weeks. He is on an antibiotic right now so
we hope we can make it till the appointment.

There are moments that are
hard. Typically with me, never his daddy. (which is the same for ALL my kids,
so perfect for dad!) He still has his pout down and can glare at me like
nobody’s business. Many of these times are simply communication and I am
praying the Lord would give ME more patience during these times.

And when you adopt TWO at one
time, it is CONSTANT work. So much to teach and guide and train and on top of
it all trying to bond well. When they are both asleep you sit and wonder, WHAT
HAVE WE DONE??

Ok, just sometimes I think
that. Most nights I am to tired to think period and just happy if I remember to brush my teeth before falling into bed.

But really, there are times I wonder, are they HAPPY to be home? Do they miss that old life? I am certain when I tell Syler no or remind him of the rules he probably DOES miss his life of doing what he wants all the time! And Mercie still gets so sad at times.

But then I see Syler sit down to eat and wait for me, his hands folded in prayer. Or I hear him call out Mama. Mercie runs into my arms and snuggles in, and I am reminded of what we have done. We have followed God's plan for our family.

We have brought our children home.

"I have to feed her, clothe her, care for her, and love her unconditionally as I tell her that I love her. Once she can understand and see my love, I can begin to tell her about a savior who loves her even more. That is the truth for these children- that they are loved, that they are valuable, that they will not be left as orphans, but that they have a plan and a hope for the future. What a beautiful truth." (Kisses From Katie pg.90)

Friday, April 11, 2014

Thursday morning we all slept
in. We talked with our kids at home. We enjoyed our last breakfast buffet at
the hotel and we packed up to leave.

A driver picked us up at 3pm
and drove us to the Consulate. A driver from Hong Kong, who did not speak
English.

And did I mention in HK they
sit on the wrong side of the car? Not to mention they drive on the wrong side
of the road. But they have some fancy vans.

We arrived at the Consulate
where our guide had said he would meet us. We pull up and the driver points at
Consulate. Does this mean our guide is inside? Does this mean, WE go inside? We
have no idea and no way to contact our guide. Mark decides to get out and go
check. Because you can just go in and check the US consulate for fun. (that is
sarcasm, you don’t do that!)

Eventually our guide shows up
at the van, Mark comes back and we have the kids passports and visas in hand.

Richard (guide) tells our
driver to drive safely. Gulp. I asked how we would tell him if we need a potty
stop. Toilet is known in both languages he said. So off we go.

We had a few options to get
to Hong Kong from GZ. Fly, which you know for me is a big no. Train or hire a
driver.

Let me just say a bit on
transportation in China. I hate flying, that is no secret. BUT I also hate the
wasted time it takes. Sitting at airports waiting because you have to be early,
AND the chances your flight leaves on time are slim. The train is obviously my
favorite because it is never late, it is smooth and easy and roomy and it is ON
THE GROUND. But you also do have to get
tickets so you are on a time table, you have to carry your own luggage on and
find a spot for that luggage. Plus the train to HK still requires a driver
because of immigration. SO, we opted to have a driver pick us up at hotel in
GZ, drive us through immigration and drop us right off at the HK hotel. 3 hour
drive.

The negative on this is that
you are on the highway, in a car, with your children, who are not in car seats.
Because China does not do car seats. Going REALLY fast. And our driver was
texting while driving. But he did
understand toilet. And thankfully the kids did really well in the car.

We arrived in Hong Kong and
when we pulled through the gates of the Disney Property, I about cried. It
looked like HOME. (well that and we were ALIVE and not in a car crash like I
kept envisioning!)

We stayed at the Disney
Hollywood Resort. On the way into HK we
stayed at the airport hotel, but figured it would be nice to be near Disney to
visit Disney on our way out.

And I am glad we chose that!
It was fun to have the Disney touches and exciting for Syler.

We had breakfast at Chef
Mickey in the hotel Friday morning. Syler was SO cute seeing Mickey mouse
there! He could not stop staring at him through breakfast, which is a BIG deal
because he did not eat as much as normal!

We headed to the park where
we had no expectations or agendas. Just have fun and when we stop having fun,
we come back to the hotel.

We really debated over Disney
with the kids. I have wanted to go for the last 6 trips, so Mark finally caved
on this one. (being that it was my birthday I think is why!) He was very
against taking the kids and his idea was to do Disney on the way in, and do a
tour on the way out. WITH kids.

We read other families opinions who have done
it both ways, Disney first, Disney last. And for us I am so thankful we did it
with Syler. Seeing the magic of Disney through your 8 year old’s eyes is
unforgettable. Disney is magical the first time for most kids, of course. But
take a child from an orphanage and it is the sweetest thing. The first ride we
went on he tried to give us change from his pocket, thinking it cost money to
ride. To realize he could ride ANYTHING was priceless. The rides my kids are
bored on typically, he was giddy over! I constantly had tears in my eyes and
whiplash from tying to keep up with all he was pointing out!

My boy can also read a map.
He studies it, leads us to things and knew exactly what he wanted to see. Space
Mountain was at the top of his list. I guess it looked cool on the map. Now,
you know that we are a thrill seeking family and our kids all love to ride
rides. But I was just not sure about putting him on this! I asked the attendant
to describe the ride in mandarin and Syler insisted he wanted to ride. We did
child swap so we could both ride and take turns with Mercie.

Who by the way was CARRIED
the entire day. How did I NOT lose weight on this trip??? Or maybe I did and it
is now muscles showing up on my scale. Hmmm….

Mark and I decided the ride
would either be REALLY good or really bad and at least we already knew a good
therapist if needed! :-/

In true Laxton fashion Syler
LOVED it and so we now know there are no worries with him fitting in just
perfectly with the rest of his siblings!

This is a MUCH smaller park
and if you try to compare it to Orlando, you would be disappointed. But we
enjoyed that it was small for the kids. It was a bit more crowded than I
expected so some of the lines were longer than I wanted to see. Our favorite
ride was the Mine Train ride (can’t remember name).

Mercie enjoyed it about as
much as any 2 year old does. She is terrified of characters, won’t sit on her
own seat and by days end was done. But she did not seem traumatized by being
there or anything and if she would have sat in a stroller it would have been
great with her. One tantrum when she was dead tired, and it was not fun, but it was expected.

Syler did run off at lunch,
EEK! Mark took him in line to order while I held a table for us. Mark came back
with him and said he was about to order (after waiting in a long line) and
Syler took off. So he left him with me, took Malaine with him and went back to
the long line. Well Syler took off on ME. Who was at the table (which were hard
to get) with the baby and all the stuff. I had just translated that he had to
stay close. He looked at me and started inching away, glaring. All of a sudden
he was gone, so I grabbed the baby, left the stuff hoping for the best and went
to find him. I think he knew by the look on my face he was not going to be
doing that again. That was the last time
he has done that to us, so the pure terror on my face must really have worked.
Or anger, they were both there!

We left the park and headed
back to our hotel where we met up with Alex again and her kids. (you might
remember she lived with us for a time in 2010) She was so sweet to even bring
me a cake for my birthday, which was delicious!

I want to come back and do this day justice, but I am way to tired tonight.

It was magical.

Besides Syler taking off from us at one point. He doesn't usually do that, till he is in a mood.

And Mercies melt down. But it wouldn't be Disney if a 2 year old did not have a melt down on me. And yes we carried her the ENTIRE day.

Honestly overall we LOVED every second of our day.

And we even ended the evening with a visit from dear friends who brought me a birthday cake!

But now we are counting the minutes till we are together with our children. I am trying not to dwell on the flight part, just the seeing my kids part!

I got the best video today of them singing me Happy Birthday, I miss them terribly!

And I miss my bed. Because see this little spot? Can't even see it can you?

That is my space. HK beds are a bit small!

Thank you for your love and prayers. We know that our journey is really just beginning and I hope that I can find the time to still fill in the gaps of THIS side of things (orphanage visit!) and as we settle into life as a family of 9!

Thursday, April 10, 2014

3 posts in one day?? Scroll down to read about Mercie and a sweet poem written by Makenna's friend.

This post will be brief. Just wanted to give a quick update that we are in Hong Kong!

At the Happiest place on earth, Disney land! :-)

I about cried pulling up through the gates, it felt so much like HOME.

This was my birthday wish (which is today) to go to Hong Kong Disney. We could not leave China for so many hours after our consulate appointment, so WHY NOT take the kids to Disney while we wait to leave!

We are so excited! I have no idea how they will do, but we will try it tomorrow and see.

Hopefully I will fill in with our exciting drive today. (because it is always fun to ride 70 MPH with a baby on your lap, and a driver TEXTING!)

It was a GOOD day. Everyone was happy and did well, just 2 more sleeps!